By Gri Martinez Saex
Among mountains, valleys, and the Macacias River there is a small town twenty-one miles
from the Haitian border, and 137 miles from Santo Domingo.
Las Matas de Farfan, is part of the San Juan Province deep into the Furnia de
Catanamatias and surrounded by the Cordillera Central Mountain Range
that runs through the heart of Quisqueya, la bella, and the Caribbean islands.
This fertile piece of land Las Matas de Farfan is where I am from.
Materos is what we are. Materos smell like history and exude pride for their town.
I heard stories as a child about our town and how we came to be and be named.
One story goes like this. Bartolome Farfan was sent to the area around 1770s to
“secure” the cattle and livestock by/for the Spanish crown. He found himself going by
the same path during his missions and this particular place provided him with a
peaceful arboleda/canopee of tamarind trees with the Macacias nearby to
rest. This resting path was then referred to as Las Matas de Farfan by passersby and
was declared the town’s name by the Spanish governor.
This path was one that many others would have to take to reach what became
part of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
As a child I felt proud that my street was named Bartolome Farfan like the town
everyone was so in love with. I would roam around the streets playing hide and seek.
Going to the Damian David Ortiz School up the big hill with my teacher and my
friends was a pleasurable routine. Staying outside to look at the stars and getting
up to walk to the park only a few blocks away while smelling and tasting the sweet
nectar of flowers of Los Lorenzo’s bushes was my secret. La Independencia,
Santa Lucia, La Estrelleta were streets I crossed often to get to the farmers
market, the movie theater, and my friends’ homes. The weekend walks up and down
La Independencia holding my friend Nene’s hand and dancing to a marching band at
Sunday concerts at the park across from the Santa Lucia Church were my favorite
pastimes.
Go forward to the beginning of fifth grade and I discovered another story of Las Matas
de Farfan. I learned what became of Bartolome Farfan’s peaceful resting place,
while he was stealing, and taking possession of the land, the livestock, and the
enslaved African and indigenous people of the area that was part of the Cacicazgo de
Managua governed by Caonabo (Taino chief). This Cacicazgo was well-known
for the great battles they fought against the European oppressors. Caonabo was
considered the lord of the Sierra (mountains) from where he fought along Anacaona
and other brave Taino men and women to liberate its people. In addition, I
learned about Las Matas being the stage for many battles that were fought through its
history, such as the batalla de cachiman, la batalla de la estrelleta, Santome, March
19, etc., where many brave women and men’s blood was spilled. Las Matas also
became known throughout the island for its struggles for freedom of religion as well.
I was a toddler when the Matanza de Palma Sola occurred; however, it is a story that
is told over and over among generations of Materos. It happened as the leader of
Espiritista movement, Olivorio Mateo, was assassinated, and his followers gathered
nearby in Palma Sola for days and were attacked by the national police as they refused
to leave the gathering. There is no one Matero who has not been taught about it.
My family was very involved in religious practices and because of our African, Taino,
and other European roots, we practice Catholicism mixed with spiritism, etc.
Many family members were known as brujos. I spent many days of my
childhood exploring los baile de palos tailing mi tia Teolinda. I loved when the borders
were open during the rituals and celebrations of the Gaga.
So these are some of the stories I have in my memory and part of why I love Las Matas
de Farfan. I prefer to call it just Las Matas, because Las Matas did/do not belong to
Farfan; it belongs to all who call themselves Materos and mother earth.
